'Natural Disaster' by Roisin Gallagher

We will all experience grief at some point in our life. 

That raw, aching, sadness when someone we love so dearly is taken from us.

In ‘Natural Disaster’, Roisin Gallagher expresses so clearly that feeling of loss, without using many words.

The set, her father’s shed, is a symbol of her dying dad. It is wonky, lopsided, full of holes and susceptible to storm damage.

And the storm comes.

The storm, symbolising his illness, is so howling, so terrifying; it’s like a scene from a horror movie.

Roisin, on her knees, writing in the soil, is trying to remember everything about her dad before the storm takes the shed.

Descriptions of how he looks are narrated over the loud speaker using sound effects that are both hypnotic and eerie.

His coat, his trousers, his hat – are hung on pegs, as though to represent that her dad is still standing there with her.

His welly boots, a symbolic representation of his hard-working, sturdy stature, feature throughout.

And mid-way, a tiny welly boot is produced, an inkling that there is another character in this story.

The storm progresses. The rain beats down heavily on the shed; the storm is battering her father.

She rushes around, trying to prevent the damage. She uses plant pots to try to catch the leaking water. But the flood rises and rises and rises – until suddenly, she is drowning. Drowning in her grief.

Using physical theatre, fantastic sound effects and lighting, Gallagher depicts this drowning scene to perfection. And in that murky darkness, I can feel her pain. I can feel her despair. I know how horrendous she must have felt in her grief.

And then, we hear a recording of her late father’s voice. I feel a tear spring to my eye and roll down my cheek. Then more tears as we sit with Roisin and listen to those recordings – those fragments of time spent with her father that she wanted to document; for fear of forgetting.

We are led to a memory of the funeral – her standing there; tray of sandwiches in each hand, listening to the clichéd platitudes of those attending. ‘Great service, at least he’s at peace, do you want an egg and onion sandwich, yes the flights are very expensive at this time of the year’ – All those empty, meaningless words when actually her face is saying ‘I’m grieving, I’m in agony, I don’t care about fecking egg and onion sandwiches’.

She is ‘shocked’, ‘shocked’, ‘shocked’ – punctuated by gun-shot sounds and sharp body movements. The sound, design and physicality of this piece allows Roisin to express her grief in a way which words can’t. Perhaps that’s why there’s such a limited script.

The shed represents her grief – sitting in it, lying in it, screaming in it, and then eventually walking away.

The child’s tiny welly boot makes a re-appearance – reminding us of the circle of life. There’s a little one to look after. There are giggles; cuteness; a smile on her face; a reason to put on her heels and try to walk on.   

'Natural Disaster' by Roisin Gallagher was performed in The MAC, Belfast on 15 - 16 March 2019
Tinderbox Theatre Company 
Writer & performer - Roisin Gallagher 
Director - Patrick J O'Reilly 
Producer - Jen Shepherd 
Set & Lighting Designer - Ciaran Bagnall 
Sound Designer - Isaac Gibson 
Stage Manager - Seana Green 
Set Construction - Matthew Forsythe